3D 프린터로 만든 혼다 전기자동차 Honda’s Micro Commuter, a 3D Printed Electric Car

Honda’s Micro Commuter, a 3D Printed Electric Car

  일본 자동차 업체 혼다가 3D 프린터로 인쇄된 전기 자동차를 선보였다고 씨넷이 7일(현지시각) 보도했다.

이 자동차의 이름은 마이크로 커뮤터(Micro Commuter).

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자동차의 바디 패널과 샷시 등이 3D 프린터로 인쇄된 자동차다. 이 자동차는 일본 과자 제조사 토시마야(Toshimaya)를 위해 생산된 것이다.

토시마야는 새 모양의 버터 과자로 유명한 곳이다. 그래서 자동차 디자이너들은 자동차 곳곳에 새 모양의 디자인을 추가해서 넣었다. 이는 3D 프린트의 장점을 활용한 것이다.

토시마야는 좁은 도로에서 손쉽게 과자를 배송할 수 있는 자동차가 필요했다. 때문에 혼다는 작은 자동차 뒷 면에 제품 박스를 실을 만한 공간을 설계해서 넣었다.

이 자동차는 3D 프린터를 사용해 제작하기 때문에 다양한 형태로 변형해 생산할 수 있다. 예를 들어 커피 회사를 위해서는 자동차 뒷면에 커피 카트를 실을 수 있는 형태로 차체를 바꿀 수도 있고 자동차 몸체에 고객이 원하는 디자인을 새겨 넣을 수도 있다.

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이 자동차는 한번 충전 시 최대 80킬로미터까지 주행할 수 있으며 1인승 자동차다.

혼다는 지난 4일부터 7일까지 개최된 일본의 최대 소비자 가전 박람회 '2016 CEATEC'에서 이 자동차를 공개했다.

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혼다는 3D 프린터로 인쇄된 토시마야 전기 자동차가 내년 봄부터 운행을 시작할 것이며 다른 커스터마이징 모델은 그 이후에 나올 예정이라고 밝혔다

이정현 미디어연구소

zdnet

by Larry E. Hall October 8, 2016

Honda had a surprise for those attending this week’s CEATE consumer electronics show held just outside Tokyo, a 3D printed electric car.

Called Micro Commuter, the little battery powered delivery car was produced for Toshimaya, a Japanese cookie company which has plans to actually use it.

source zdnet.co.kr

This isn’t Honda’s first 3D printed car. It produced a series of toy-sized models last April to demonstrate the company’s future self-driving technology.

Don’t think that printing a car is just fun and games for engineers and designers fooling around on company time; a 3D printed car is serious business for car companies.

Using special design and engineering software allows the production of a working vehicle in as little as two months, an enormous cost savings compared to the traditional methods of building a running prototype.

Honda worked with 3D-printing specialist Kabuku to build the custom delivery vehicle.

“The total development process was shortened to about two months while still offering an original vehicle with reduced time and costs,” Honda said.

The EV chassis and drivetrain were almost the only parts of the van that were not 3D-printed; most body panels were designed from scratch to fit existing hardware, such as headlights.

Honda’s motorcycle division pitched in with the design and engineering of the car, which has a frame of pipes similar to a motorcycle, giving it a lightweight yet strong narrow structure beneath the 3D printed panels.

The Micro Commuter has a driving range of around 50 miles provided by one large battery pack built into the floor of the van, plus a pair of packs that have about a 10 mile range that are positioned next to the driver’s seat, which is the only seat.

Toshimaya is famous for its butter cookies in the shape of a bird, so Kabuku used a bird shape theme across the outside panel of the hatchback door, as well as around the windows and on the seats.

Micro Commuter was designed with features specific to cookie deliveries, such as trays that slide out of the back and tie-downs to stabilize the cookie cargo.

The small width of the car was designed per Toshimaya’s request, as the roads in their delivery area are particularly narrow.

The fully functional Micro Commuter EV will begin delivering Toshimaya’s bird-shaped butter cookies next spring — subject to approval from Japan’s department of transportation.

CNET

http://www.hybridcars.com/hondas-micro-commuter-a-3d-printed-electric-car

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